Chapter 9

Separated

MINA

I stared in shock at Raye who was breathing hard as she slid to us.

"A dragon?" I managed to squeak out and then covered my ears as the dragon let out another screech.

"How strange. If there was a dragon on the Mountains then the Intibi Book would have noted it." Ami said quietly. But then shook her head as if disputing her own assessment. "Or maybe that's what we're supposed to face up here."

"But the Village." Lita interrupted. "I don't think there would be a village so close to a dragon in the first place. I think the dragon is out of place. Remember Ami? When we were reading the Elemental Magic book it told us that there were certain dragons that contributed to the element magic. This is not one of the mountains a dragon would be."

Ami nodded vigorously and Raye gave them a look. "Then what is it doing here?" She asked and looked behind us to see a blast of white.

"We have to go look." I told them and turned to Kunzite and Serena. He still had his hand over her mouth and Serena stayed still. "Take her down the mountain and wait for us." I told him urgently. I saw him give me a look of protest, but Raye cut him off with a silencing snap of her fingers. Kunzite didn't take too kindly to that reprimand and his ice blue eyes seemed to grow even colder.

"Our duty foremost is to protect the Princess. You have not discovered your powers." She told him sternly. I felt a little uneasy looking at the two. I knew that Kunzite wanted to help, but I also knew that Raye was right. I didn't like them fighting, or any ill feeling between them. After all we were a team and we had to like each other in order to get things done.

"Kunzite." I said quietly and touched his arm gently. A flow of power ran down my arm. I tried to snatch it back, but it was too late. Kunzite turned his attention to me. His eyes warmed a little, sparkled with tenderness. Damn it, I didn't want to manipulate him like that! "Please." I finished and he stared at me for a moment, before nodding and slowly crawling backwards with Serena in his arms. I shook my head, and turned to the girls. Raye didn't look too pleased with herself because she stared at Kunzite's retreating back with regret.

"Let's go see." Lita said and we all stood and hiked the rest of the way up the mountain. The rocks were ragged and wind blew the snow sands across our faces, getting into our eyes and noses. I summoned my bow and trudged behind Raye and Lita. Above our heads we saw a circling white dragon screeching angrily. From somewhere on the mountain something black shot from the ground and right at the dragon. It dodged it and opened its mouth, making a dive at the offending person below. There were shouts and the dragon let loose a white attack. It hit the ground with a resounding thump and shook the mountain. Dangerous sharp rocks broke from the jagged mountain top and we ran as fast as we could, dodging the flying sharp things and leaping over cracks. Raye motioned us to the left and we went. Beyond the jagged rocks we saw strange looking creatures. They were brown and hairy. Their faces were twisted and scarred like someone was in a fire and their faces melted. They were armed with a bow and sharp black arrows. What ever they were, Raye shook her head, a signal that they were a problem and needed to be taken care of. Raye had the Goddess of Might stone that gifted her with seeing the hearts of a person. Raye was very good at first impressions, and her first impression of these creatures was not good.

"Mina, a light arrow to stall them. We'll make our move then." Raye said. I nodded and stepped forward. I summoned a light arrow and armed my bow. It shone brightly I had to squint to take aim. I let it loose and it shot forward making a bight flash of light that took the creatures by surprise and blinded them. Raye quickly moved forward with Lita and Ami. I stood behind and watched over them.

Ami was the first to move and summoned her magic hitting two of the creatures and freezing them in place. Raye hit one of them with a cry shattering the creature. Lita waved her hand at one of the broken boulders and hurled it at the other frozen creature and shattered it. The brown, hairy creatures turned their attention to us and I quickly dispatched one of them that was taking an aim at Lita. Raye whipped through two of them, slicing heads and kicking their bodies to the ground. There had to be about ten or twelve and it took a while before they were all taken care of. Lita had a shallow cut on her cheek, and Raye's side was bleeding as well. Ami had a nasty bruise on her small chin and I had a whip mark across one of my legs. It stung like a mother taco, but I ignored it figuring that I would heal soon. Luckily the dragon stopped screeching and we all walked cautiously forward, prepared to take the Dragon if need be.

Fiends! Blood thirsty fiends! It was a sizzling voice of alarm that made all of us stop dead in our tracks. The white dragon let out another chortled screech, not as loud as it did earlier. It saw us and hissed, preparing for another attack. We braced ourselves, but Ami stepped forward unexpectedly.

"Halt! We mean you no harm!" She yelled loud enough for the dragon to hear. It closed its mouth, swallowing its attack. It's huge scaly winged flapped hard as it landed on a huge boulder. I could see scorching black marks on it head, marring the touch looking skin. Needs some lotion…I thought absently before I let my bow and arrows disappear. Ami stepped before us, studying the smoking wounds. Globs of blood ran down one of its massive legs in a puddle on the rocks.

"Lita." Raye turned behind her and Lita nodded in understanding. She joined Ami and chanted a short while. The dragon must have sensed the spell for it reared back its head with a cautious hiss of warning. Ami held out a hand.

"We won't hurt you." She told her.

It is a hard thing to trust human. It hissed, but let Lita come closer to her. Lita let loose a gentle spell of healing. It looked like skipping white fireballs all in a row. It bounced from her hand in waves and rolled over the dragon. Soon, her wounds began to close and the pool of blood shimmered away in a blink of an eye.

"Feel better?" Lita asked and sat down before she fell to the floor from dizziness. For Raye to allow Lita to do such a spell that would make her so weak meant that she was secure in our surroundings and secure in the dragon's character as well. Raye would never allow me or my cousins to put ourselves in harms way if anything surrounding us was threatening.

Yes, I am better. Thank you. She said. Her voice was smoky and light we almost had to strain our minds to hear her. And how the heck was she using telepathy without or permission? With that thought, I began putting mental blocks up. It was a good skill to have learned. Kunzite showed us one time when we were in a training session. He and Raye would spar and he always managed to beat her. He said it was because her mind was too open, and it showed in her eyes. Every move, every counter move, he read in her face. Raye was really angry with his explanation and that night, she order Kunzite to teach us mind block techniques. He did so willingly, glad that she asked his help. Well, I amended that thought, demanded his help.

I knew Kunzite got frustrated when Raye would decide to do things by herself, her own way. But that was how Raye was I explained to him one night when he and Raye were at odds again over another session of practice. I told him Raye was a very cautious person who went though a lot and learned how to deal her own way. She found ways to deal with things and when she found a way that would work, it was the only way she did things. It was hard to ask her to change and understandable to see that she wouldn't change. No matter what, Raye was the way, or there was no way. Well, for her at least, I thought and placed the last block up.

"What were those creatures?" Raye asked and made her sword disappear. The dragon snorted and looked in distaste at the slaughtered creatures. Thankfully the cold air was keeping the smell at bay. I stood over one of the bodies and studied the creature resisting he urge to summon a long arrow to poke and prod at it like I did with the dead frog I had to dissect in high school biology.

Dark creatures that were created by the bodies of dead humans and beasts of the land. Minions of Diamond. Yomens. The dragon said. Uggh, that was so sick, no wonder they smelled.

"Why were they attacking you?" Raye asked.

They wanted my sister cradled in that peak. She tossed her head and we all looked to see a nest. No wonder the people of the village didn't notice a dragon in their vicinity. It was on the other side of the mountain. She must have been keeping a low profile. So the yomens chased her here to get her sister? Poor Dragon fleeing from such a creature.

"Why did they want her?" Ami asked her sitting next to Lita. She gave her a skin of water and Lita sipped it here and there, gaining her color back in her cheeks.

We are the last of the goddesses that managed to escape imprisonment. She said simply. Lita choked on the water she was sipping and Raye simply raised a brow. She wasn't very surprised, I thought and mentally shrugged. Probably felt it when she was doing her character assessment. The dragon was slender and white, but soon her huge bulking form shimmered grey and the outline of the dragon changed into something smaller, forming long legs, arms, and then the shimmering subsided and a tall, tanned woman stood before us. She had long black hair, but when the wind shifted and blew the strands, the sunlight bled through them and I notices that her hair was almost dark green. She had honey brown eyes, but other than that, she looked remarkably like her sisters.

"I am Trista, Goddess of Illusion." She bowed her head almost reverently. "And finally I cast my eyes on the chosen four, the Shay Warriors."

"Your colorings are much different than that of your Sisters." Lita said, standing. She was stronger now, I could see, and glad about that.

"Yes, Hotaru and I take after our father." She said a bit dryly.

"Hotaru? She is your sister?" I asked, shifting my weight to one leg, with a resting hand on my hip.

"Yes, she is the Goddess of Destruction. She has just turned twelve, and is at a precious stage in her life. All Goddess and Gods go through the process when they reach a certain age. Her powers are growing and at times, they are uncontrollable. She is vulnerable, and Diamond knows it, that is why he sent the yomens to kill her."

"So, it's like puberty for the gods?" Lita asked with a smile. Trista smiled slightly, and inclined her head yes.

"Thankfully, the process is almost finished and then, she will be well." With that said, there was a loud boom, and we turned to see rock fly from the peak Hotaru was on. The rained down, and Ami had just enough time to summon a gust of wind to blow the debris from us before we were crushed by the flying boulders. Her hand lowered when all was clear, and the wind resumed is course like nothing ever happened. "Now she is done." Trista spoke and soon, and small dark figure shot from the peak and careened toward us. As it got closer, we saw the dark hair of the girl. She stopped short, flying more calmly now, her purple eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed. She landed next to Trista, dressed much like her older sister in dark robes of blue and black. If anything, they looked normal, and unnoticeable, just the way they wanted. Hotaru was pale, and her expression was solemn, kind of sad really. It struck me how innocent she looked, all the while harnessing a powerful gift. Goddess of Destruction. She must be the youngest I decided and offered a smile. She inclined her head in acknowledgment.

"Feel better?" Trista asked. Hotaru turned to her sister and nodded once.

"Nice to meet you." Lita said with a little wave, and greetings from myself and my other two cousins commenced.

"The Orb of Verdin." Raye finally got down to business. "Tell, us where it can be found."

"Ahh, so Serenity has decided to gather them. Well, you're in luck aren't you? Come, we will show you the way." Hotaru spoke, and she began walking quickly. The top of the mountain was okay, I guess, it was still cold, but at least my legs weren't suffering the way they did when we were hiking up. We came to an unremarkable stone just a few yards away. It was flat on the top, and as high as Lita's chest. I was little annoyed that I had to tippy toe to see. Raye brushed the Snow Sand from the top and we saw a jagged inscription. Ami tippy toed and studied the inscription.

"Time crested lock ensures this rock." She said aloud. She began thinking, muttering under her breath. I looked to Trista and Hotaru who were murmuring between themselves.

"You might have to come back to this one until we find the item to open it." Trista finally said and we all turned to one another. They can't be kidding! All this way, braving the cold and the threat of camping in snow? All for nothing?

"What does it need?" Raye asked in exasperation.

"A special charm. They are very rare and—" Raye interrupted them.

"A Bowa Charm?" She asked. Trista's expression never changed, but I could see that she was surprised.

"Yes, how did you know?" Hotaru asked. Raye shook her head and we all explained what had happened just this morning.

"Where is she now?" Horatu asked excitedly. It was the first time I saw her act her age. She seemed like she had to grow up too fast. Poor thing.

"I'll go and get them." Ami offered. I decided to follow her.

LITA

Raye and I stayed behind as Ami and Mina descended from the mountain. I was still a little weak, I could feel what ever it was inside of me that made my magic shiver. It was a fluttering feeling, and my fingertips still tingled. It was kind of annoying, and I rubbed my arms impatiently. Trista and Hotaru were silent. Whispering a few things to one another.

"I wonder what they plan to do. I hope it doesn't hurt her." I switched languages. Raye shrugged.

"They won't. I feel they have a close connection to her. She is their family after all, their niece." It seemed like it took the group forever to hike up here to meet us. I saw the top of Kunzite's hair after a while and he had little Serena in his arms. As soon as they reached the top, Serena scrambled out of his arms. He let go of her arm reluctantly, regarding the new pair of people with caution. Serena didn't seem to take mind of them. I glanced up and saw a warm smile grace the two goddesses.

"She looks like Serenity." Hotaru spoke first and kneeled in front of her. Serena offered a smile and Hotaru stood and gave Serena a cute little bow. "Hello." She said. Serena smiled brightly.

"Hi!" She greeted and Raye cleared her throat for attention.

"Serena we need your help." Raye said. Serena nodded.

"Okay, what can I do?" She asked. Trista patted the flat stone. Kunzite lifted her and Serena stared down at the uninteresting stone, confusion clearly written on her face.

"Can you put your hand here for me?" Trista asked. Serena placed her hand without even hesitating and the stone rumbled. Serena gasped and jerked her hand away.

"I have you." Kunzite told her and tightened his hold on her. Serena looked from Mina, to Ami, then to me and then Raye. We all nodded in encouragement, prepared for what ever would happen. She placed her little hand back on the stone and it rumbled again, and then glowed bright purple. The writings on the rock faded and then there was a loud crack and Serena jerked her hand away. The rock shook open and inside there was a small purple clear gem. Raye reached down and picked it up. As soon as her hand left, the rock snapped back together.

"Whoa, that was close." I muttered.

"That was too easy." Raye said with a troubled look. It was. The rock vibrated and then it sank into the ground.

"Get her out of here!" Raye yelled to Kunzite over the roar of the vibrations. The ground shook and we all were tossed to the ground. Kunzite had lost his old on Serena and she fell with a scream by my side. I grabbed her quickly and held her close. The tremble of the ground was so terrible that it shook me and Serena from the rest of the party. Serena was crying and held on to my neck, choking the air from my lungs.

"Lita!" Mina screamed, but dots swam in my vision. I tried to get Serena's arms to loosen, to give me some air, and when I managed to do that, we were airborne, sailing off the opposite side of the mountain. The air rushed all around us. I was so disorientated. I couldn't see my cousins anymore. The mountain was coming apart like a stack of legos and rocks were falling all around. But I kept Serena close to me, cradling her to me. I was still weak from my powers, but I knew what spell I had to chant for us to make it safely to the ground. My ears were ringing from the fast whistling wind. I turned our bodies until we were on our sides.

Controlling our movements was hard. The ground was coming closer and closer to us, and then I closed my eyes tightly and chanted as fast as I could, making sure the words were enunciated right, putting the breaks between the words and summoning a certain part of my powers. It was an elemental spell and I knew I would be so weak afterwards, but I had no choice. The last word left my mouth and a gust of wind wrapped tightly around us like ribbons, slowing our decent.

Luck was on our side and we landed in a patch of cold, shaded green grass. Blinking, I sat up with Serena still holding tight to my clothes. It was seconds before the falling rocks fell as well, and I rolled us closer to the base of the mountain. A cave! I spotted it immediately and stood on shaky legs and dashed head first inside before a gigantic rock walled us in. I heard my breath in the echoing cave, felt Serena tremble in my arms, but she didn't cry. Groaning, I managed to lift my self up. Taking deep breaths, I tried to stop my dizziness, but I used so much of my powers, I fell back in an abyss of black.

XOXO

NEPHRITE

Morning rose and filtered in through the curtains of my huge house. It was cold and bright in my room forcing me to get up. So, hefting a sigh I called for a maid with the ding of a bell. A short while later, she knocked.

"Bath!" I barked through the door and heard her scurry away with my order. Another knock at the door and my maleservant entered looking mildly amused with me.

"What is wrong with you? You're usually in a good mood in the morning." He asked and pulled open a door to my closet to get my clothes.

"Bad night." I bit at him and poured myself some water that was on the night stand. My mouth was dry and hot but the water did nothing for me.

"Care to elaborate?" He asked me tossing some clothes on my bed, and then tossing a clean towel next to it.

"Not really." I muttered because in truth, I couldn't elaborate. It was a strange dream, full of darkness. All I heard was a little girl humming. I could tell she was waiting for something, or rather someone. But she was in the dark and she was stroking someone's hair. Another annoying knock and my maleservant nodded his head.

"Bath is ready for you Lord Nephrite." His kind blue eyes sparkled softly and he smiled. "I think you are going to have a big day." Frowning I grabbed my towel and threw it over my shoulder.

"Why do you say that Artemis?" I asked. He shrugged and turned himself into a little white cat, like he did so many times when they were to go exploring. "I'll be waiting for you when you are finished." And then the little cat hurried down the hall with a swish of his tail.

When I entered the bath room, steam rose to great me, clinging to my skin. After a very relaxing morning bath, I dressed, grabbed a quick bite to eat and was off to find Artemis. He was perched in the horse stalls, watching the boy workers clean. My horse must have smelled me because he started prancing in his stall with excitement.

"So where are we going?" I asked, walking to a saddle rack and taking mine from its hook. Artemis twitched his tail serenely and said noting only watched me saddle my horse. I hopped in the saddle and we all walked into the bright morning sunlight.

"Its daytime now, do you want o go to the landslide?" He asked me. Oh yeah, there was a landslide from one of the mountains yesterday afternoon. It had been dangerous to go there when it occurred because rocks were still falling and rolling down the side of the mountain and dust was in the air. But it should have calmed by now. We made the trek up to the base of the mountain. Big boulders dotted the landscape, setting into their new places. I dismounted and Artemis and I scouted the new terrain.

"Must have been a disturbance in the summit." Artemis murmured settling on a rock and looking up. The top of the Snow Sand Mountains looked really different. After staring at them over the past ten years on my life, it was so strange to be looking at them now.

Hello! I stopped and listened. What was that? Who was that? It was faint, but I was pretty sure I heard someone's little voice. Someone?

"I heard that." Artemis jumped from the rock and I followed.

"Hello!" I called out in a loud voice and stopped to listen for a response. "Hello?"

Help us! The little voice called out again.

"Where are you?" I called out, pushing myself behind a couple of rocks.

"Here! Can you hear me?" The voice called out. I was pretty sure that whoever it was, was behind this rock that stood in front of me. It was huge and way to big for me to move alone. Panic welled inside my chest, and I leaned against the side of the boulder to at least try.

"Artemis! Help me!" I told him. The cat trotted in a circle, and then light gathered around him and he turned back into a human. Together, we both pushed as hard as we cold, but the damn rock only rocked once or twice. Panting, sweat dripping down by face, I mustered all the strength I could, and Artemis and I managed to make a small opening between the cave and the rock. Breathing hard, I crouched down and pressed my face against the rock. "Are you there?" I asked. There was shuffling and soon a little girl's face peeked in at me. She was a beautiful little thing, big bright blue eyes and a mass of wavy hair in front of her face.

"Hello, what's your name?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Serena." She said. Artemis turned back into a cat and brushed against my leg. "It's cold in here, and Lita is still asleep." She looked behind her.

"Lita? Is there someone else in there with you?" I asked. She nodded.

"We fell from the mountain and she got tired from using her magic." Magic huh? There were very few people who could use magic, and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I believed her at all.

"Can you squeeze out of there?" I asked. She sat back and studied the crack and shook her head.

"Maybe I could, but Lita can't." She said. "And I don't want to leave her here all by herself." I sat back on my heels and looked to Artemis for a suggestion.

"Perhaps we could use your horse. With both of us and your horse, we should be able to move the rock far enough to get them both out. I agreed and dug in my saddle and took out a coarse rope. I positioned Star in front of the boulder and wrapped the rope around it too. Artemis changed back into a human and together, all three of us pushed and pulled the rock back. Soon, there was enough room for me to get to them. Serena crawled out. She was about six, with dove grey pants and a pink button up shirt. Her hair was done up in little bun looking pony tails. She was bare footed and dirt smudged her little face. Artemis took a blanket from Stars side bag and wrapped it around the little girl.

I crouched in the low ceiling cave and saw a bundle of green and brown. I kneeled and touched the bundle. It was warm and I pulled at the pale green fabric. It was dark, so all I made out was small features. I gathered the girl in my arms and went out of the cave. When we got into the light, I looked at the bundle in my arms and froze. She…was…beautiful. So perfect, and warm, and alive. Soft features, long lush lashes, small nose, pink lips. A mass of auburn curls cascaded down my arms. Oh gods, she smelled so sweet, powdery and sugary, like she just baked cookies or something. I protectively tightened my hold on her, and brought her closer to my chest. I felt like I had to keep her safe, and I was angry that she was hurt in the first place. I felt like I failed her somehow, and I was angry at myself.

"Nephrite." Artemis broke through my red hazy and I glanced at him. Serena was in his arms and asleep. Artemis smiled and shrugged.

"She was really tired. We should get them back. The woman in your arms looks like she has a nasty gash on her arm. Startled, I looked down ands saw a line of blood trickle down her arm, and drip off her finger tips. Enraged even more, I cursed and stalked to my horse. I refused to let her go, so I carried her in my arms, all the way to the Manor House.

XOXO

AN:…Uh…uummm….review? Please? And thank you for reading! Love you all lots and lots kisses! MUH!